New state law aims to prevent schools from snooping on their students through their laptops

Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr. of Hoboken was among the co-sponsors of the law known as the "Anti-Big Brother Act." The Jersey Journal

A new privacy law designed to prevent school districts from using school laptops to snoop on students was signed into law last week.

Gov. Chris Christie signed the law known as the “Anti-Big Brother Act,” which was co-sponsored by Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr. of Hoboken, Assemblywoman Angelica M. Jimenez of West New York and six other Democratic state legislators.

The law requires school districts and charter schools to warn students in writing that their activities on school laptops may be recorded and monitored, officials said.

The school district must also make it clear that they will not invade a student’s privacy with the device, officials said.

“As a teacher, and one that 1grew up at a time when none of these advancements were at our fingertips, I know first-hand how helpful technology can be to students,” Ramos said in a statement. “However, we also need to walk a fine line when it comes to invasion of privacy that can lead to confusion and embarrassment. This law will help protect everyone’s rights.”

The law was prompted in part by a scandal that led the Lower Merion School District to agree to pay $610,000 in October 2010 to settle federal lawsuits that alleged administrators used computers to invade the privacy of students.

The suits alleged administrators used webcams and surveillance software installed on laptops provided by the district to spy on the students in the privacy of their own homes and even bedrooms.

“This (law) will help students avoid any situations that, while perhaps not malicious in intent, could prove embarrassing,” Jimenez said in a statement.Failure to comply with the new law that takes effect July 1 could lead to fines of up to $250 per incident, per child.